UFC Macau was a rough night for Chinese fight fans.
There are no teams in MMA. We all support fighters based on their personalities, fighting style, or regional ties. When the UFC travels across the globe to an international destination like China, Australia, or England, it’s as close as our individualistic sport comes to supporting the home team. The crowd celebrates or mourns alongside its athletes in a rare show of unity, which adds an extra element of drama even for those of us viewing from home an ocean away. Think of Carlos Prates’ demolition job over Jack Della Maddalena a few weeks ago: wasn’t it especially devastating in front of “JDM’s” hometown crowd?
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That added investment begins on the “Prelims,” and in Macau, the communal heartache began early. Zhu Kangjie’s UFC debut ended by knockout in 75 seconds. Aoriqileng was dominated from start-to-finish by Cody Haddon, and Yi Sak Lee ended up on the floor just a couple minutes into the first as well. Sumudaerji appeared to be on the path to righting the ship against Alex Perez, but a single low blow sent Perez to the vomit bucket and derailed the entire contest.
Heading into the co-main event of Zhang Mingyang vs. Alonzo Menifield, Chinese athletes were 0-4 (1) on the night. In a minor upset, Menifield emerged victorious, but his path to the win was shocking. Mingyang is a fast starter known for quick KOs, but Menifield outboxed and outgunned the 27-year-old prospect in almost every exchange for his own early finish (watch here).
It’s one thing to watch Aoriqileng — an established mid-card veteran who nobody expects to contend — get beat up, but Mingyang is supposed to be the guy. Less than a year ago, “The Mountain Tiger” was undefeated in the Octagon and putting damage on Johnny Walker, closing in on a Top 10 ranking. Getting taken apart by a relatively unheralded veteran in Menifield feels like a definitive fraud check, and it sent the crowd into a nearly catatonic silence.
All the pressure in the world was on Song Yadong in the night’s final bout, and perhaps that tension was felt in the Octagon too. The first round was very slow, as Yadong — generally a fast starter — barely threw any punches. Deiveson Figueiredo didn’t do much either, but he likely stole the opening round with a couple body kicks and some top position following a Yadong slip.
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Thankfully, “The Kung Fu Kid” settled into the fight. He really opened up in the second, letting his jab, right hand, and an assortment of kicks fly with much more consistency. Before too long, Figueiredo looked uncomfortable on his back foot, as those shots were getting through. Nobody likes getting hit by Yadong, and Figueiredo tried to turn to his wrestling to relieve the pressure.
He fell right into a picture-perfect arm-in guillotine, tapped by his own signature weapon (ask Alex Perez and Tim Elliott about the “Daico” guillotine).
The crowd erupted, catharsis achieved.
Song Yadong walks away with his status as a top Bantamweight contender confirmed, and he’ll remain a huge piece of Chinese MMA for the foreseeable future. Yadong’s slick submission was enough to make fans forget about the other local disappointments, at least for a moment.
